Tuesday, June 30, 2009

re-evaluations and for sale animals

The joy of not selling your lambs before they are born, or immediately when they are born, or when they are 8 weeks old is awesome! My AI lambs are now 14 weeks old. I now cannot decide which of the 14 ram lambs I should keep!

I thought initially there were a few 'duds', and then at 8 weeks there were a few I thought would go directly to the freezer, but now...I'm seeing some AMAZING things happen to the boys! The fleeces are coming in really crimpy. The bodies seem to have caught up to the long tails on some, the horns on some that looked to be headed towards 'fatal' are now curving out and away very nicely. Heads are looking less ugly. I have got to be honest. I'm hooked on this AI thing :)

I KNOW I do not need to keep both rams from a set of twins. Just deciding which one to keep will be my problem!!

I plan to offer NOW the option to be put on a waiting list for one of the following boys. After micron tests the 1st of September I will be able to figure out who I want to retain over winter and/or use for fall breeding groups. The others would be available for sale, if they are deemed of breeding quality. Those that have bad fleeces and/or bad conformation will be held over and butchered in the spring. Yes F1s can be eaten too, no worries ;)

The following rams may be available:

ONE of the following two rams: WhitePine Simeon (Ag gray) full horned ram or WhitePine Solomon -black scurred ram. One will be available. F1 Timothy F3 Gordon. Dam is Justalit'l Shasta. 62.5% UK. They appear to be more intermediate in fleece or a long single coat. VERY square boys.

ONE of the following two rams: WhitePine Rhodes or WhitePine Roman. Both white rams, one has illget markings on legs and face. Both full horned rams, F1 Orion 56% UK. GORGEOUS crimpy fleece including the tail head. very little or no britch wool. Dam is RYL Rachildas.

ONE of the following two rams: WhitePine Philemon *musket* or WhitePine Phineaus *Moorit*. Philemon is scurred, and Phineaus seems to be full horned. Both are a big leggier right now that I like but they are really filling out nicely with nice even crimp. 75% UK. Heights Orion x Underhill Peep.

ONE of the following two rams: WhitePine Ulam (light badgerface, moorit based) or WhitePine Uphaz (musket yuglet sokket). Ulam is full horned, very square with a slight leaning towards intermediate or long single coat. Uphaz is appearing to have UK style horns or slow growing horns or scurred(?). He is more single coated of the two. Sire is Shirehill Minder. Dam is Underhill Ulla. 69% UK.

WhitePine Rufus. Fawn ram with scurs or slow growing horns. He is out of Heights Orion and FirthofFifth Rooibos. Will be long intermediate fleece. Very square and built ram for those who wish to have a longer staple. Lovely wool on poll and cheeks already too! 62.5% UK.

Please contact me for prices on F1 rams of this high of percentages. Photos are available if they have not been posted lately.

Minwawe Flopsy. A mature ewe who has given me amazing lambs this year when bred to Jazz! She is domestic with a more singlecoated fleece. She is moorit who is a proven spot producer and is very structurally correct. A great asset to any flock.

Minwawe Dark Chocolate. Gorgeous jet black ewe who carries modifed and spots. Extremely nice conformation and a fleece that has some larger crimp.

Minwawe Sterling. black krunet ewe. She is not the ideal ewe but has given me two years of dynamite ewe lambs to retain! She is a proven producer who has given me my softest lamb of 2008. Her 2009 lamb is also very amazing.

WhitePine Columbine. black ewe with tiny horns. Complete love. she was my bottle baby last year. yearling micron was 20.1 with a comfort factor of 99.6%. She was not bred last year. I have other black ewes I am wanting to take a chance on and so she is available. her CV was not her strong point.

There are also two black ewe lambs that I am still waiting to have 'wow' me in the fleece department. I think they will be more intermediate and I don't really 'want' to have them as I prefer single coated. One is 65.75% UK and the other is 35% UK. One has a silly white smirslet on her head, the other is solid black.

Will give discounts to multiple purchases. All yearlings or older are tested negative for OPP, Johne's and CL. Micron reports available as well as lambing history of ewes.

2 comments:

Garrett, do you think you might have a good poll carrying moorit or musket ewe for me this year? If not, hey cool, maybe I'll get something next year out of your awesome black polled ram! Boy is he nice!

Who we are

Ramsay Farms is situated in the northeastern part of Ottertail County, near Perham, Minnesota. This family farm of 320 acres has been in the Ramsay family for five generations, dating back to 1892. Today our farm prides itself on our Simmental cattle, Shetland Sheep and BlueFaced Leicester sheep. We strive to breed animals that closest match the breed standards given to them, and mindful of production, health and longevity in our animals as well.

In spring of 2016, there was a purchase of 32 acres in Green County, Wisconsin to accommodate Garrett for his work in that region. The animals have for the most part been moved to that location. Both locations will work in tandem to continue educating and promoting these animals and this way of life.

Tradtional 1927 Standard Shetland wool

Shetland Sheep Links

2015 pair

WhitePine Foley and daughter Frygg

From the Shetland Sheep Society

"Shetland sheep have for generations been noted for their very soft and well crimped fleece. The wool is the finest of all native breeds and shows an amazing variety of colours and patterns. There are 11 main whole colours and 30 recognised markings.

By selecting from coloured fleeces a range of naturally coloured yarn can be produced. This eliminates the need for dyeing and therefore retains the soft feel of the natural fibre and is favoured by those who prefer a totally natural approach.

Shetland wool fibres are of a simple construction witha central cortex covered by a thin scaly cuticle, and have an average diameter of about 23 microns. However there is a range from 10-20 microns for neck and shoulder wool to 25to 35 microns for britch wool. the average staple length is 3.5 inches. The amount of crimp varies, and is most important in providing the 'bounce' required for knitwear. There is a positive correlation between fineness and crimp, with wool of the finest quality being crimped at between 8 and 12 to the inch. Wool from shetland sheep is used to produce gossamer lace, the famous 'Fair Isle' knitwear, and fine tweeds. Pure bred Shetland sheep tend to shed their fleece in sprin. The growth of new fleece can cause a rise or weak point and where this is present the fleece can sometimes be plucked or 'rooed' by hand. The timing of this can be different in each sheep, however, it is worth taking the care to get it right as rooed fleece can be amongst the softest because the fibres have no harsh cut ends as occurs with a sheared fleece.

Shetland fleece can be handspun straight from the fleece or made into rolags and then woollen spun. It can also be sorsted spun by hand, used on a peg loom or handwoven. It also felts well using either dry or wet methods. When processed commercially the wool can be made into the finest lightweight worsted cloth or heavier weight, harder wearing fabrics and tweeds."

BlueFace Leicester

a beautiful typey ewe

Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian. - Dennis Wholey